Oxymoronica: Paradoxical Wit & Wisdom From History's Greatest Wordsmiths
by
Mardy Grothe
Order:
USA
Can
HarperCollins, 2004 (2004)
Hardcover
Read an Excerpt
Reviewed by Hilary Williamson
I
love delving into little books like this, to find turns of phrase that stimulate depth of thought. In his foreword, Richard Lederer calls paradox a '
particularly powerful device to snare truth
' and encourages us to discover in it things that '
you did not know you knew.
' Dr. Mardy Grothe coined the term
oxymoronica
'
to describe quotations that contain incompatible or incongruous elements ... and are often profoundly true.
'
H
e divides this little collection into chapters on topics that range from '
The Human Condition
' and '
Oxymoronica on Stage & Screen
' to '
The Literary Life
'. I especially enjoyed '
Oxymoronic Insults
' and '
Inadvertent Oxymoronica
'. The author analyses a few examples at the beginning of each section, and then presents
oxymoronica
for us to appreciate on our own. Here are some from the ancients. Augustus Caesar adjures '
Festina lente
' or '
Hasten slowly
'. Chuang-Tzu tells us that '
A man who knows he is a fool is not a great fool
'. Publilius Syrus says '
Agreement is made more precious by disagreement.
'
O
n a lighter note, we have a couple for the Oscars - from William Hazlitt, '
Actors are the only honest hypocrites
', and Peter Ustinov shares '
Comedy is simply a funny way of being serious.
' Here's an anonymous insult, '
Deep down, he's shallow
', and from Lillian Dykstra, '
He struts sitting down.
' And how's this for impossible to follow advice, '
Be spontaneous
'? I like Robert Heinlein's '
Always listen to experts. They'll tell you what can't be done and why. Then do it
', and this from Harry Emerson Fosdick is very relevant today, '
Liberty is always dangerous - but it is the safest thing we have.
'
T
hose are some of my favorites, but you should really read
Oxymoronica
yourself. You'll find many gems of wisdom inside, for as Mark Twain said, '
It takes a heap of sense to write good nonsense.
'
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